Swamp Girl

Cool!

Good attitude. I find it reassuring that even the Great Pat Brown loses bass.

No problem. I read old threads too and sometimes respond to them.

I agree 100%. Bass are constantly moving. I don't fish everyday, but I do fish back-to-back days and everyday, even launching on the same water, I have to find the bass again. Some anglers believe that bass are "simple creatures" and whereas that might be true, they live in complex systems.

So, when I first started visiting Bass Resource consistently, I was returning to lmb after forty years of targeting smb, muskies, white bass, and walleyes. When I last fished for lmb, I was casting wooden Creek Chub poppers with a Zebco 404. Things had changed. Mightily. In short, I knew nearly nothing and so sought the expertise of the Bass Resource crew. In turn, for a couple years, the Bait Monkey lived on my back and I bought just about everything that was suggested. However, I slowly settled into a routine of the lures that work best in Maine...at my local lakes...for me. I'm estimating I caught about 40% of my 2024 bass on an underspin with a Keitech, Mayor, or Zako, and another 40% on a popper. Do I think you should stock up on underspins and poppers? Heck, no! If you were to come to Maine to fish the water I fish, do I think you should stock up on underspins and poppers? Heck, yeah! Now, the interesting question is why do certain lures work best in certain places? The underspin works for me because it's a small and lightweight lure. Look at the woody bushes on the shoreline below: Those bushes are ubiquitous in Maine and bass park under them. An underspin, with the Zako's body tight to the hook, is nearly weedless, and when it lands, it doesn't kersploosh! Sometimes it seems like I cast the lure into their mouths. It hits the water and it's fish on. A spinnerbait would be too noisy when landing and not weedless enough and a Zako on a swimjig wouldn't give me the flash that an underspin does when I do parallel-to-shorelines retrieves. So, the underspin works for me locally. The popper works for me because I'm a low-light angler, fishing in the dark, near dark, fog, and rain. The bass aren't as wary in low light because the eagles and ospreys can't see them and more likely to prowl the shallows. So, what is your local lure and most importantly, why does it work for you where and when you fish?

@Goby: This pic is one of the best I've seen at Bass Resource:

It went "Meh." I don't fish Rage Tails much anymore. They caught Maine bass, but not as many bass as other lures on the water I fish. YMMV. However, I should revisit them just in case.

I was talking 2023.

Fine. I just mailed you this. Open the crate right away as it'll be hungry. Real hungry.

Perhaps you've heard the phrase, "in the belly of the beast." Now behold the belly of the beast! I just had to post your trophy again, Scott and FWIW, I add a pound to her weight because you caught her from the shore:

@softwateronly: Congrats, man! You caught some beshemoths. @T-Billy: They're the biggest lodges I've ever seen too. They're beaver skyscrapers.

I launched at 11:00 and fished for 2.75 hours. It was windier than forecast, but manageable. I had to hunt protected water. I fished a big fish bog. I didn't catch a big fish, but I did catch an 18-incher on a wacky worm thanks to @AlabamaSpothunter's suggestion. Thanks, Alex! I saw something chasing bait and hoped it was bass. It wasn't, but I caught three pickerel. Look at the size of this beaver lodge. There were two like it: I saw a couple beaver dams too: This bog is the second prettiest body of water I fish. It has no buildings and several, long, narrow bays: Here's the one bass I caught:

Maine bass prefer wakebaits here and there. Most mornings or evenings, they prefer louder surface lures like poppers, Ploppers, and walkers, but here and there, they gobble wakeys.

Thanks for the tale. I love the stories of catching bass as much as the pics!

Bob, that sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!! This sounds like my former fishing life on big water in the Midwest, where other anglers would see what I was catching and park beside me. I even had some boats troll around me, again and again and again.

Agree. I've caught some five-plus pounders and I could happily catch those all day. It's the two-pounders that go bonkers in my little canoe that are no fun. You have a heckuva pretty boat.

It's vertical banding is so dark and thick, plus its dark all over. I believe that she was even more beautiful in person, but she's so beautiful in your pic too. I don't just measure bass by weight and length. I also count their beauty and power. In 2024, I raved about a couple ordinary, 18-inch bass because of their extraordinary strength. It's a pity there isn't a bass numbering for beauty and strength, so let's just say that your girl compares to another perfect 10:

I'm reposting Susky's fish because it's just that pretty: @A-Jay, can you fish like me and launch your canoe where there's no ramp?

Holy green bass, Patman! You and Jake should dance a jig! Congrats to both of you. So many massive water buffalos! You really do bass whisper, Pat. So does Officer Clayton. And Fried Lemons. And....

Five inches, it is! I had good luck in 2024 with dark ones that had chartreuse tails. Maine bass like chartreuse.

Those bass are soooooooooo thick, Dwight. They remind me of these guys:

I'm going to a big bass bog tomorrow, Alex, and because of you, I'll have a Senko tied to one rod. Should I use one of my big Senkos or an average one?

Me too! I take guiding seriously. If I take someone and I outfish them, I didn't do my job.

So true. We don't need all the lures. Plus, I believe that bass in different places prefer different lures. The game is discovering which lures your local bass prefer.

What a great program. I'd be happy to take a vet fishing on my pond. I'd put her/him in the bow, point where to cast, and then net his/her bass.